It's A Wonderful Smurf
by Rowena Zahnrei
Summary: The story that dares to answer the question: What would the world be like without Brainy Smurf? (Complete! Please Review! :D )
1. 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Smurfs, but Mandrake the Mischievous Imp is my own made-up character. Please do not sue me or steal my story!

Hi Everyone! This is one of the first complete stories I ever wrote, and I don't just mean about Smurfs. I wrote the original version back when I was 11 or 12, but for this version I thought I'd spruce it up a bit and fix some of the problems with description, flow, grammar, spacing, etc. So, this will be the polished up version of "It's A Wonderful Smurf." I hope you'll enjoy it!

**It's A Wonderful Smurf**  
by Rowena

Mandrake the Mischievous Imp wandered aimlessly through the forest.

"I'm bored!" he moaned.

Three birds who had been conversing on a tree branch above his head flew away. They knew Mandrake the Mischievous and his infamous tricks. If he was bored, no one in the forest was safe.

"I've nothing to do," the little imp went on. "I've already turned the milk in the milkmaid's pail into smelly old cheese-the look on her face when she found out! I've enchanted every one of the fat baker's new loaves so that when they're sliced they'll turn into muddy boots."

He sighed.

"But, I'm tired of playing tricks on humans. They're far too easy to fool. I want a _real_challenge. I have to think up the ultimate trick, a trick that will keep me laughing until the end of time! But what? And, who could possibly serve as my perfect victim?"

The little imp sighed again, then stopped wandering and looked about. He was in a part of the forest he'd never been to before. For a moment, he was interested.

"Oh, my! Just look at that enormous oak tree! I don't believe I've ever seen one that thick around before!"

Then, he sighed most deeply and drooped until he was looking down at his toes.

"But I'm still bored."

Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.

"Wait, I know! I'll take a nap under that great oak. I've been walking all day-no wonder I can't think up any really good tricks! A nap is just what I need to rejuvenate my wonderfully mischievous brain!"

It was no sooner said than done. The moment the little imp's back rested against the tree's bark, he was fast asleep.

* * *

Brainy Smurf looked around at his stacks and stacks of hand-bound books and sighed, deeply.

"I'm so bored!" he exclaimed, sitting dejectedly down on one of the smaller book piles.

"I've read every one of these books at least a dozen times. I know the stories, spells, rules, and quotations backwards and forwards! If I look at another word, I think I'll smurf!"

He sighed again and turned desperately towards the window.

"But, what can I do?" he moaned. "I don't feel like writing. I'm too bored to smurf up with any good quotations."

Struck with sudden inspiration, he jumped up.

"I know!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "I'll go see if any of the other Smurfs are in need of my expert advice! I'm sure they'll all be grateful for my help. After all, where would any of them be without me, Brainy Smurf, to help advise and guide them as to the best way to smurf about their business?"

Feeling much better, Brainy straightened the short stack of books he'd been sitting on and strode purposefully from his little mushroom house.

The first Smurf he came across was Harmony.

Harmony stood in the middle of the Village, blowing his horn with all his might. From the trumpet's bell issued the most appalling collection of fractured notes that ever afflicted a pair of ears.

Brainy froze for a moment, then he quickly covered his ears and strode away. Harmony's awful playing was beyond even his help.

The next Smurf he saw was Smurfette. She was busily watering the flowers in the small garden that surrounded her house. As she moved her watering can to and fro, sprinkling every flower with just the right amount of water it needed to thrive, she hummed a happy little Smurf song.

Brainy had never been very interested in watering flowers, but he had read a book on the subject of gardening once. Taking a moment to recall what he could from that book, Brainy strode importantly forward and prepared to amaze Smurfette with his superior brain.

"Good morning, Smurfette," he said, gracing her with his biggest smile.

She barely glanced at him.

"Oh, good morning, Brainy," she said distractedly.

Brainy was willing to allow for the fact that she was too intent on watering her flowers to take the time to show him the proper respect. He decided to let her brusque, almost dismissive greeting slide without comment.

"Smurfette," he started, "I was watching you just now, and I couldn't help but notice that the way-"

"I'm sorry, Brainy," said Smurfette, "but I don't have time to talk just now. I must finish watering these flowers before the sun gets too high."

Brainy nodded, trying his best to hide his disappointment.

"Very well, Smurfette. I understand. But remember, if you ever need any help-"

"That's nice, Brainy. Good-bye!"

"Oh. Um, good-bye, Smurfette."

Determined to be of help to somesmurf, Brainy went on.

Everywhere he looked, Smurfs were busy. Even Lazy's snoring had an industrious sound to it. But, no Smurf seemed to need any assistance. Farmer, Tailor, Greedy, Poet, all of them were too busy to pay any attention to Brainy's advice. The Smurflings were too busy fishing to try out a new game he'd invented. Even Puppy was too busy digging holes in the bank of the River Smurf to play smurf-the-stick with him.

When he approached Handy to tell him (after careful observation) that what his Smurf-o-Matic Water Smurfer really needed to make it complete was a pulley, Handy was downright rude.

"Fine!" Brainy shouted. "Don't listen to me! See if I care! I know a Smurf who always finds my help useful. In fact, I think I'll go see if he needs my help right now!"

"Good!" Handy shouted back. "You do that! Leave me alone so I can smurf my work!"

Brainy turned on his heel and stalked off, pushing his glasses angrily up his nose.

"That Handy Smurf will see I'm right soon enough. How does he expect to smurf that water bucket without a pulley? Some Smurfs just won't be told!"

In no time at all, Brainy had crossed the Village to Papa Smurf's house.

Looking in the window, he could see Papa Smurf at his work table, a vast collection of colored liquids and powders in special glass containers arrayed before him. In a corner, Baby Smurf crawled about, giggling and playing contentedly with his blocks.

"Good morning, Papa Smurf!"

Papa Smurf looked up, but Brainy couldn't tell if he was annoyed or simply surprised at the interruption.

"Oh, it's you, Brainy. Hello."

Brainy grinned, encouraged by the fact that Papa Smurf didn't seem to be dismissing him with his hello as all the other Smurfs had.

"I was wondering, Papa Smurf, do you need any help with your experiment? I want you to know, I would be only too happy to do anything you ask!"

Papa Smurf brightened, and Brainy's chest swelled with hope.

"Why, yes, Brainy," Papa Smurf said. "There is something you could do. It would really be a big help to me."

Brainy was so happy he could have danced on air.

"Oh, anything, anything, Papa Smurf!"

"Will you take care of Baby for me?"

Brainy's spirits crashed back to earth with a heart-shattering jar.

"Take care of Baby, Papa Smurf?" he repeated, praying that he'd heard wrong.

"Yes," Papa Smurf confirmed.

Brainy couldn't have been more devastated if he'd broken his glasses, then been told it was impossible to make new ones and he'd have to live a life of almost complete blindness for the rest of his many, many years.

"It would really help me," Papa Smurf went on, oblivious. "You see, this experiment I'm working on requires my utmost attention, and Baby's been rather frisky today."

He chuckled behind his bushy, white beard.

"I understand, Papa Smurf," Brainy said quietly. He could have cried, but never in front of Papa Smurf.

"How smurfy! You can have him until dinner time. I should have finished this experiment by then."

"Yes, Papa Smurf."

Brainy sighed, coming into the house and lifting Baby from his blocks.

Baby stretched out his hands for his blocks and screwed up his little face in preparation for a really terrific wail. Before he could open his mouth, Brainy scooped up his blocks as well. Baby grabbed a red one and started chewing happily on a corner.

Brainy looked down at him dejectedly, then turned to go.

"Always glad to be of help," he said.

He only wished that Papa Smurf wanted him to assist with his experiment. As it was, he'd as good as told him he was as much an unwanted bother as Baby, and that he'd be thrilled to be rid of both of them.

Brainy blinked his stinging eyes rapidly behind his glasses and shut the door quietly behind him. He didn't want to be more of a bother to Papa Smurf than he already was.

_To Be Continued..._


	2. 2

2.

"How much longer will I have to wait before you can talk? Or walk, for that matter," Brainy snapped at the giggling Baby Smurf in his arms. "You're even more boring to be around than my books!"

After being dismissed as a hindrance by every Smurf in the Village, and then by Papa Smurf himself, Brainy had decided to take his unwanted charge to play by the Great Oak. That way, no Smurf would be forced to put up with his presence. The way he was feeling, he didn't want to be forced to put up with anysmurf's presence either. Least of all the presence of the littlest Smurfling.

Baby Smurf looked up at him and tried to touch his glasses.

"Don't do that!" Brainy exclaimed. "You might smudge them!"

Baby giggled again, and reached up for the glasses with both hands.

"You stop that, you hear?" Brainy commanded, holding down Baby's tiny blue hands with his own.

Baby looked at his restrained hands, his large eyes welling up with tears.

"Oh, no! Don't cry, Baby, please!"

But, it was too late. Baby's mouth opened so wide it seemed to take up the whole of his tiny face.

Brainy cringed at the tremendous wail that emanated from that vast, dark opening.

Baby squirmed and kicked and screamed and cried.

Brainy was not in the mood to put up with the temper tantrum of a Baby Smurf.

"Fine then," he snapped. "If you're going to behave like a spoiled Smurfling, we're stopping right here."

True to his word, Brainy stopped in his tracks and placed the bawling Smurfling on the ground. As he did, he also dropped the blocks he'd been carrying along with him.

As soon as Baby saw those blocks, he stopped crying at once.

Brainy rolled his eyes and sat down on the grass.

Baby crawled happily over to the scattered blocks and started making contented burbling noises.

Brainy shot him an annoyed glance, then shook his head.

"Oh, what's the point in being mad at you?" he asked, speaking at Baby, but knowing he was really talking to himself. "You're too little to understand what a bother you are sometimes. But, I'm not."

Brainy scowled and twisted his fingers through a tuft of dry grass, then got to his feet and began to pace.

"I know when I'm not wanted. I know when everysmurf wants to get rid of me. And I'll tell you, I've had it! If they don't want my help, then I don't care. They'll find out their mistakes soon enough without me to help prevent them from smurfing them in the first place. One of these days, they'll realize that I'm always right, and then they'll smurf to my door just begging me to share some of my wisdom with them! They'll live to regret that they ever said '_hello_' to me, really meaning '_go away_'! I can tell when they do that. I wasn't smurfed yesterday, you know!"

"Oh, gosh, Brainy! Everysmurf knows that! You were smurfed a hundred years ago, just like the rest of us."

Brainy stopped in his tracks, surprised by the unexpected voice beside him.

"Clumsy!"

"Right the first time, Brainy!" Brainy's best friend replied with a chuckle. "What'cha doin' with Baby?"

Brainy sighed and sank back down to the ground.

Clumsy sat good-naturedly beside him.

"Papa Smurf didn't want my help with his experiment, so he told me to take care of Baby," Brainy said. "Of course, what he really meant was '_Go away, Brainy. I don't need you._'"

Clumsy's eyes went wide.

"Gosh, Brainy, really? I'd have though he meant he needed you to take care of Baby. Papa Smurf always tells me it takes a responsible Smurf to take care of Baby."

Brainy glared at him, but bit back what he was about to say. He wanted Clumsy to stay. Clumsy may have been the most accident-prone, non-intellectual Smurf in the Village, but he was good company.

"Oh, Clumsy," Brainy moaned, "I feel so useless! No Smurf wants my help. They're all so busy all the time doing useful things to help out the Smurf community. And, what do I do? I annoy them!"

"Um, you write rule books and useful quotations and tell everysmurf how they should do things differently from how they're doing them. You call assemblies together and lecture everysmurf about how you know best. You're a very good organizer," said Clumsy with a big smile.

Brainy groaned loudly and buried his spectacled face in his hands.

"Gosh, Brainy," said Clumsy, concerned. "You don't look so good."

Brainy looked up.

"You know, Clumsy," he said seriously, "sometimes I envy you."

Clumsy felt shocked. He thought of Brainy as the most intelligent, talented Smurf in the Village, even above Handy. He'd often wished, late at night, that he could be just like him. Sometimes, he even wished he could have glasses like him. The thought that such a wonderful Smurf would envy him, Clumsy, was overwhelming.

"Who, you? Envy me? But, Brainy, I'm always tripping and kicking the Smurfball into the river. I mean, I can barely read! Why should you envy me?"

"Because even for all your clumsiness, everysmurf likes you, Clumsy," Brainy replied. "They don't mind having you around. They all hate me."

Clumsy's eyes were so wide they were in danger of falling out of his head.

"But, that's not true, Brainy! Everysmurf likes you!"

"Oh, really?" Brainy exclaimed. "Then how come every time I try to help them, they as good as tell me to smurf off?"

"Gosh," said Clumsy. "They do?"

"Yes!" Brainy cried. "They do! Even Papa Smurf!"

Brainy hung his head.

"You know, Clumsy, sometimes I feel it would have been better if I'd never been smurfed."

Clumsy gasped.

"Brainy! You can't mean that!"

"Yes I can, Clumsy. Sometimes, I really do think the Village would be better off without me."

Before Clumsy could reply, the Smurfs were interrupted by an unfamiliar voice from out of the trees.

"Is that so?" came the voice. "I'll bet I could help you."

Brainy stood up and looked around.

"Who's there?" he demanded, painfully embarrassed that a stranger had heard his intensely private, heart-felt confession. "Don't you know how rude it is to eavesdrop on a Smurf's private conversation?"

"I'm sorry, my friend," said the voice. "But your conversation woke me up. Don't you know how rude it is to interrupt an imp's nap?"

"An imp?" said Clumsy.

"That's right."

There was a rustle of leaves and, suddenly, a slender imp with long, pointed ears and a bright green cap was standing in front of them.

Baby looked up at him nervously.

"Mandrake the Mischievous, at your service," the imp announced, and politely tipped his hat.

"Mandrake the Mischievous, eh?" Brainy repeated, unimpressed. "And how could you help me?"

The imp looked smug.

"Well, for one thing, I could grant your wish."

Brainy drew his eyebrows together.

"What do you mean?"

The imp looked down at his fingernails, then rubbed them absently against his tunic.

"I could show you what your village would be like if you'd never been 'smurfed', as you so quaintly put it."

Clumsy gasped.

"No, Brainy, don't do it! This mischievous imp is up to mischief, I just know it."

Brainy turned to the imp.

"Why would you want to do this for me?" he asked. "You don't even know me."

"I know how you're feeling. Unappreciated, underrated, misunderstood, unfairly put-upon, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Am I right?"

Brainy still didn't trust him.

"So, what if I am?"

"Well, this would be a way to show them all just how important you really are, wouldn't it? If they had to get along without you to help them, they'd soon realize how much they needed a-what did you say you were? A Smurf?"

Brainy and Clumsy both nodded.

"They'd soon realize how much they needed a Smurf like you."

"But," Brainy pointed out, "if I'd never been smurfed, no Smurf would remember I'd ever been around. How could they feel my absence if they didn't realize I was absent?"

The imp paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Good question. I see now how you got your name, Brainy Smurf."

Brainy looked smug.

Clumsy looked proud.

"Well?" Brainy pressed. "How could they?"

"I'll make it so you can converse with your friends. As soon as they see how useful you are to them, they'll wish they had a Smurf like you to give them advice. The reason they don't seem to appreciate you is probably because they're so very used to you always being there for them."

Brainy's eyes widened behind his thick glasses.

"You just might have something there, Mr. Mischievous," he said, a small smile starting to tweak the corners of his mouth. "But, how would I be able to smurf everything back to normal? I mean, it would be awful to be a stranger in your own village for too long."

The imp looked impressed.

"Another good question, Brainy."

Brainy puffed out like a stuffed pigeon.

"All you have to do is to call upon me when you want everything 'smurfed' back to normal. Of course, none of them will remember what happened. You'll be the only one."

"Wait a minute," Clumsy spoke up.

The imp turned to him.

"Yes, Clumsy Smurf?" he asked.

"What if I want to go too? And, what about Baby Smurf? Who's going to take care of him while we're away?"

The imp smiled.

"If Brainy Smurf wishes you to go along with him, I could make it so," he said. "What do you say, Brainy Smurf? Do you want to go for it? Or, would you rather go on being brushed aside by your fellow Smurfs?"

Brainy bit his lip, then looked at Clumsy.

"You're sure you could smurf things back to normal any time I asked?"

"Any time," Mandrake replied.

Brainy screwed his face up into a brave, determined look.

"Very well. But, only Clumsy and myself. Baby Smurf might get scared."

Clumsy nodded in agreement. A might-have-been reality was no place for a little Smurfling.

"How about this," Brainy proposed. "I'm done watching over Baby at dinner time. Will you still be here in three hours?"

The imp shrugged.

"Sure."

"Good. Clumsy and I will return here then. Then, you can smurf your magic."

"I'll be only to glad to be of service. I know what it's like not to be appreciated. It will be a pleasure to assist you."

"Thank you, Mr. Mischievous," Brainy said politely.

Mandrake smiled.

"Please," he said. "We're all friends now. Call me Mandrake."

* * *

Mandrake the Mischievous laughed longer than he'd laughed in a long time once those foolish Smurfs had gone.

"Ha ha!" he cackled. "How perfect! I wish for the ideal victim and, lo and behold, he falls right into my lap! That ridiculous Smurf with the glasses is so arrogant and pompous, his fellow Smurfs probably _would_ be better off without him! The look on his face when he realizes..."

The imp bent double with laughter.

"Hoo hoo, hee hee! It's going to be delicious! This will be the best trick I've ever played!"

_To Be Continued..._


	3. 3

3.

"Well, Clumsy, this is it," Brainy announced as he and his friend reached the edge of the wood. "Are you certain you want to smurf through with this?"

"Well, gee, Brainy. Of course I am. I know how much everysmurf needs you. It's about time they all knew it too."

Brainy smiled.

"It is, isn't it?"

The two friends walked forward together into the forest. In no time at all, they'd reached the small clearing near the Great Oak where they'd first met Mandrake the Mischievous.

"Well, where is he?" Brainy demanded, annoyed. "You don't think he stood us up, do you?"

Clumsy looked concerned.

"Gee, I don't know, Brainy. He said he'd be here."

"I am here!" came Mandrake's voice.

The green-clad imp pushed through the underbrush, then stood before them, panting.

"I'm afraid I got rather lost while I was searching for the ingredients I need for the spell. I've never been to this part of the forest before, you know."

"Oh," said Brainy. "That's all right."

"Are you Smurfs ready?" Mandrake asked.

Brainy looked to Clumsy, who nodded nervously.

"We're ready," Brainy announced.

"All right. Stand in a circle, please."

"Don't you mean a triangle?" Brainy asked.

"What?"

"There are only three of us-the three points of a triangle."

Mandrake swallowed a groan. _Good grief..._

"A matter of semantics," he said. "Stand in a triangle then."

The Smurfs and the imp took up their positions.

"Now, repeat after me." Mandrake cleared his throat.

_"Eye of newt and dragon's spleen  
Make Brainy Smurf a might-have-been."_

Mandrake reached into his sack and pulled out half of the crushed and crumpled leaves and berries he'd spent the afternoon collecting. He sprinkled them over the Smurfs' white, floppy caps as they repeated his chant.

Clumsy suddenly felt dizzy. The forest seemed to spin around him in green and brown streaks.

Brainy grabbed onto his arm.

"Oh, Clumsy!" he groaned. "I feel sea-sick!"

"Just hang on, Brainy," Clumsy shouted over the roar of a sudden wind. "I think it's almost over."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the wind died down and the forest came to rest.

Clumsy felt fine, but Brainy still swayed dizzily.

_"Oooogggghhhheeeerrrreeehhhhh h,"_ Brainy groaned, clutching his stomach. His glasses were askew.

"Gosh, Brainy," Clumsy observed. "You don't look too good."

"Tell the forest to stop spinning," Brainy moaned.

"But, Brainy, the forest has stopped spinning."

"Oh."

Brainy shook his head, then straightened his glasses.

"Did it work?" he asked, peering about him rather blearily. "Where's Mandrake?"

"Uh, I don't know," said Clumsy. "He sorta disappeared."

"Disappeared? You mean, he left us alone here?"

"Well, he did say to call for him if we wanted to smurf back. Uh, do you want to smurf back, Brainy?"

"No, of course not," Brainy said. "Not yet, anyway. But, how are we supposed to know if Mandrake's spell has even smurfed?"

"I don't know, Brainy," Clumsy said. "I guess we gotta find someone who knows you, then find out if he knows you."

"Right," Brainy said, and started walking. "Come on, Clumsy, let's head for the Village."

The two Smurfs hadn't gone far before Brainy spoke up again. Far from his usual, pompous, self-confident tone, he spoke hesitantly, choosing his words with care.

"Thank you for coming along, Clumsy," he said. "You're always there when I need you most."

"Gee, Brainy. Think nothing of it."

"I really mean it, Clumsy. Sometimes I get the feeling you're the only friend I have. I can confess my deepest feelings to you, and you really listen. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Brainy."

"I'm sort of scared, Clumsy."

Clumsy wrinkled his forehead.

"What do you mean, Brainy?"

"Well, if the imp's spell worked, no Smurf will know who I am. Not even Papa Smurf. Don't you think that's a scary thought?"

"Well, gee. Now you put it like that, it is kinda scary, isn't it?"

"But, if it's the only way to get them to realize how important I am to them, then it's worth it. Wouldn't you agree, Clumsy?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess so, Brainy."

* * *

Some minutes later, the two Smurfs reached the clearing where the Smurf Village sat, safely concealed from all the world. Even before they entered the Village, they could tell something was wrong. A thick layer of half-rotted leaves and broken sticks littered the ground. Here and there, a sapling poked out through the leaves, and several young birch trees now stood near the announcement rock at the Village center. The whole place smelled damp, like an old, abandoned cellar.

Clumsy shivered, and stepped closer to Brainy.

"Why are there so many leaves all over the place?" Brainy asked. "And the mushroom houses look to be in pretty bad repair. Look at that! There's a great big hole in Painter's roof. Where's Handy?"

"Hey, Brainy," said Clumsy. "I don't see Smurfette's house!"

"Or the Smurflings' house!" Brainy exclaimed, on the verge of getting panicky. "Where is everysmurf?"

A sharp _snap_ sounded behind them.

The two Smurfs spun around, their startled hearts trying to beat right through their chests.

Papa Smurf's house stood in front of them.

Brainy motioned for Clumsy to be as quiet as possible, and started to creep toward the window. Cautiously, he rose onto his tiptoes and peered into Papa Smurf's workspace.

He barely caught a glimpse of a toppled bookshelf and some broken glass before he heard startled yelp. Something fell to the ground with a loud, thumping crunch just behind him.

Brainy screamed and spun around.

Clumsy looked up at him with a sheepish grin, and picked a few brown leaves off his hat.

"Uh, sorry, Brainy. I guess I tripped."

"Clumsy!" Brainy growled. "You scared me half to death!"

"I'm sorry, Brainy," Clumsy said. "But I couldn't help it. You know, that's why they call me Clumsy."

"Yes, I know, Clumsy. I know. Well, so much for the silent approach. Come on, let's just go in."

Brainy put his hand on the door, then froze when he heard a scampering, skittering sound coming from somewhere inside.

Brainy looked at Clumsy, then bravely pushed the door open.

Nothing happened.

Not yet willing to relax, Brainy tip-toed into the house. Clumsy followed close behind.

"Hold the door open, Clumsy," Brainy said.

Looking around, he spotted a large, open book on the floor, blanketed with a coating of dust almost as thick as his thumb. He nudged the book with his foot, then pushed it against the door.

"There," he said. "Now we have an exit in case we have to smurf a quick escape."

Clumsy shot his friend an admiring look, then glanced around the lab.

The place was an absolute mess. Books covered the floor, many of them so ripped up they resembled bits of confetti. A bookshelf lay on the ground with a heavy ax imbedded in it. Shards of broken glass glittered everywhere. But, there was no sign of anyone who could have caused such damage.

"Let's check the bedroom," Brainy whispered.

Clumsy nodded.

"And try to be careful!" Brainy hissed as he delicately picked his way through the sharp glass shards on the floor.

Clumsy nodded again.

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Clumsy's foot somehow got tangled in a broken chair leg and he tumbled to the floor.

Brainy turned to glare at him, only to find himself laid out flat by a streak of blue that shot from the bedroom like an arrow from a crossbow. Brainy's glasses flew off in the collision.

"Quick, Clumsy!" Brainy shouted, groping blindly for his glasses. "Stop that Smurf! Ow! Smurfin' glass..."

"Don't worry, Brainy! I'll smurf him!"

Clumsy picked himself up and raced as fast as he could after the blue streak.

Brainy felt satisfied his friend would catch their mystery Smurf. Clumsy may have been the slowest runner in the Village, but he was the most persistent. That Smurf couldn't keep up his super-fast pace for long. Soon, he'd have to slow down. Then, Clumsy would catch him-if he didn't trip first.

It took a full fifteen minutes of crawling and feeling, cuts, bruises, and bumps before Brainy finally found his glasses. The whole time, he'd been in a near-panic.

Brainy once had to spend several days without his glasses, and he knew how horrible it felt to open his eyes, yet see only faint, colored blurs. The thought of being blind and helpless in this dilapidated version of his beloved village was more than he could bear.

It was with the deepest relief that his cut, bruised fingers closed over the familiar black frames. But, when he slipped them on, a good deal of his relief faded away. A large, multi-rayed crack ran through the center of the left lens, leaving the world before him fractured and blurry.

"Oh, no!" Brainy squeaked. "That dumb Smurf broke my glasses! What am I going to do?"

He wracked his brains, pacing back and forth, before he remembered he'd once seen a spell for mending broken glass listed in one of Papa Smurf's spell books.

"I only hope it's not in one of those torn up books!" Brainy muttered as he skimmed through volume after dusty volume.

Some of the books were so damaged from being left open for so long that, when he went to pick them up, great chunks of pages fluttered out. He then had to chase after them, scanning every page with his one good eye until he finally found what he was looking for.

"Oh, great," Brainy moaned. "They want me to take off my glasses before I can mend them! Well, at least the spell's short. Let's see..."

Squinting, Brainy read the spell over and over, until he had it flawlessly committed to memory. Carefully, he placed his glasses on Papa Smurf's stained, debris-covered lab table and recited the incantation over them, raising his arms and wriggling his fingers as he'd often seen Papa Smurf do.

"I just hope this worked..." he muttered, groping for his glasses and quickly slipping them on.

The world came instantly into focus, bringing with it a relief so strong Brainy jumped almost half a foot in the air.

_"Smurfaroo!"_ he cheered, echoing an exclamation he'd often heard the Smurflings use in times of joy. He'd never fully approved of the expression himself, but it seemed the only word suitable for the occasion.

Then, he noticed two Smurfs standing in the doorway, staring at him.

Brainy straightened at once, his face flushing pink. Quickly, he tucked his dignity back into place and took up his most pompous posture.

"So, Clumsy, I see you've found your Smurf. Good work!"

"Uh, thanks, Brainy," said Clumsy. "I've tried to ask him his name and things, but he won't smurf me any answers. He seems really scared for some reason."

Brainy turned his attention to the strange Smurf who had broken his glasses. He was a truly pitiful sight. He was pale and thin with a starved, wild expression. His ragged, dirt-streaked beard reached almost to the ground, and his clothes were so patched and filthy it was impossible to tell if they'd originally been white or dyed a color.

Despite all this, Brainy knew him at once.

"No... Oh, no! But—but how-?"

"Brainy?" Clumsy asked. "Do you know this Smurf?"

"Don't you?" Brainy said, his face pinched and pale. "Oh, Clumsy. Can't you see it? This Smurf... This Smurf is Papa Smurf!"

_To Be Continued..._


	4. 4

4.

"Papa Smurf, what's happened?" Brainy exclaimed. "How did you end up like this? Where are all the other Smurfs? Where's Smurfette? Where are the Smurflings?"

At the mention of the Smurflings, the emaciated Smurf 's face twisted into an expression of such searing pain and sorrow that it hurt the two healthy Smurfs to look at him.

Brainy's reedy voice took on a compassionate tone.

"What's wrong, Papa Smurf? Please, you can tell us!"

The gaunt, ragged Smurf sighed a sigh so deep it sounded as if it had come from beyond his toes. Slowly, he lowered himself to the mess of a floor and put his head in his hands. His shoulders began to shake, and the two Smurfs realized the poor Smurf was crying.

Clumsy looked down at him helplessly.

"Gosh... This is terrible. What can we do, Brainy?"

Brainy picked his way over to the weeping Smurf. He crouched down next to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

The emaciated Smurf flinched, but did not pull away.

"Please, Papa Smurf," Brainy said. "Please, tell us what happened."

Slowly, ever so slowly, the starved Smurf lifted his ragged head.

"You-you're real, aren't you?" he asked.

The Smurf's voice sounded hesitant and gravely, as if he hadn't used it in years. Still, Clumsy recognized it at once as Papa Smurf's. He gasped, and slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Yes, Papa Smurf, we are real," Brainy said, giving the poor Smurf an encouraging smile. "And we're here to help you. Please, tell us what's wrong. Where is everysmurf?"

"Alas," sighed Papa Smurf. His voice was as fragile as the breeze. "If you've come to help me, you've come too late. Much, much too late!"

He crumpled into tears again.

Brainy was getting ready to stand, at a loss to figure out a way to comfort this Smurf, when he started speaking again. The more he spoke, the stronger his voice became.

"It all happened...oh, maybe forty, fifty years ago, now," he said. "My poor little Smurflings...they thought they were so grown up, but they were just babies. Oh, my poor little baby Smurfs!"

His breathing became ragged.

Brainy and Clumsy shared a worried look, afraid he might start crying again, but he managed to pull himself together and continue.

"It was Hotep. The evil imp, Hotep. I...I remember, as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I was coaching my little Smurflings' smurfball practice..."

* * *

_The mid-morning sun shown down on a Smurf Village alive with shouts and cheers and happy laughter._

Little Clumsy Smurfling loped down the smurfball field, trying his best to keep his eyes fixed on the big, orange ball as it was kicked from Smurfling to Smurfling.

"Whoa—uh—whoops!"

Papa Smurf blew his whistle.

Every Smurfling stopped in his tracks, revealing little Clumsy sprawled out in the dirt.

"Penalty on little Clumsy for tripping!" Papa Smurf called. "But, since he tripped himself, I am awarding him a free kick!"

"A free kick!" Hefty Smurfling exclaimed. "But, that's not fair, Papa Smurf! If he smurfed himself up, he should be out of the game!"

"Yeah!" Tuffy Smurfling said. "Clumsy little Smurflings like him have no place on a smurfball field, if you ask me! He never smurfs the right position, and he's always smurfing to the wrong end of the field!"

"No Smurfling can smurf the ball with his big, clumsy feet in the way!"

"I hate big, clumsy feet!"

The Smurflings all began talking at once, most of them glaring down at little Clumsy.

Clumsy put his hands over his hat and cringed.

Papa Smurf blew his whistle again, louder than before.

"Enough, my little Smurflings! I said, that's enough!"

The Smurflings quieted down, but their angry expressions remained.

"I think you are being very unsmurfy to little Clumsy," Papa Smurf said. "He can't help his nature, any more than you Smurflings can, and he has just as much right to play this game as any smurf of you. Now, Clumsy, stand up and smurf your free kick."

Clumsy climbed awkwardly to his feet and loped over to the ball.

The other Smurflings jeered at him.

"Spoiled Smurfling!"

"Papa's pet!"

Hefty crossed his arms.

"I still say this isn't fair. I wouldn't get a free kick if I tripped! It's not fair that a klutzy Smurfling like that gets special treatment just because he can't smurf on his own two feet!"

"Yeah! Where's it say tripping smurfs you a free kick?"

"It doesn't say anywhere!"

"Then how do you know who can smurf free kicks?"

"That Smurfling has a point!" said Tailor Smurfling. "It's not like there's any real rules to this game! Papa Smurf just makes it all up as we go!"

"In that case, I want a free kick!"

"Me too!"

A frightened and bewildered Clumsy dove out of the way as a horde of his angry peers charged for the ball.

Papa Smurf blew his whistle again and again, but by this time, Tuffy had thrown a punch at Dreamy. The two smurfball teams quickly dissolved into one big, multi-limbed scuffle, kicking up a dirt cloud so thick Papa Smurf could barely distinguish one Smurfling from the other.

"Smurflings! Stop this! My little Smurflings, listen to me!"

"Oh...oh woe! How can we stop them, Papa Smurf?" Poet Smurfling cried.

Papa Smurf sighed.

"Little Tailor was right. If only I'd thought to write down the rules for this game, I could have stopped this fight before it started."

He straightened.

"That's it... That's what I'll do. Poet Smurfling, I want you to- Wait, what's that!"

High above the dusty scuffle, something loomed, large and ominous.

"Gosh... Uh, what is that, Papa Smurf?" asked Clumsy.

A huge creature with sharp talons and bat-like wings swooped down from the sky, aiming straight for the fighting Smurflings.

"Oh my- It's a goblin!" Papa Smurf cried. "Run, my little Smurflings! Quickly! Into your Smurf houses!"

The Smurflings looked up, and screamed.

Dozens of goblins circled above them, pink and green and yellow and gray.

The tiny Smurflings ran for cover, but the goblins dove like hawks, snatching them up one by one until every Smurfling had been captured...and Papa Smurf too.

"Oh no!" Papa Smurf cried, struggling to loosen his captor's bruising grip. "They're carrying me away from my little Smurflings! Let me go! Let go of me, you monster!"

"Okey dokey!"

The goblin dropped him, and he tumbled through the air down, down, to the bottom of a smooth-sided crater.

Shaking off his fall, Papa Smurf tried to climb out of the hole, but the sides of the crater were too sheer. Unable to find any handholds, the bearded Smurf kept sliding back to the bottom.

"How will I ever be able to get out of this pit?"

"You won't, Papa Smurf!"

Papa Smurf shielded his eyes as a short, cloaked figure appeared above him in a flash of light.

"Hotep!" he cried.

The red-clad imp twirled his pencil-thin mustache.

"The one and only!"

Papa Smurf glared up at him.

"What wicked plot has your evil mind hatched this time?"

"I've discovered an ancient formula with which I can turn your precious little Smurflings into precious little gold bars."

"Please, Hotep," Papa Smurf begged. "Allow me to join my little Smurflings, so that I might share their fate."

"Oh, no, no, no, Papa Smurf," said Hotep. "Your cleverness and magic powers are well known to me. You will remain here, helpless, while I complete my plan!"

With another flash of light, the wicked imp disappeared, leaving Papa Smurf alone...

* * *

The ragged Papa Smurf took in a shaky breath, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Once that terrible imp had gone, I remembered I still had my whistle," he said.

"I knew it was a long shot, but I blew that whistle as hard as I could. The resonating sound split a large crack up the side of the sheer crater-just enough to allow me to climb out.

"Once I was free, I ran back to the Village as fast as I could. I knew that if I could only get to my lab in time, I could create an apparition formula that would allow me to appear instantly in Hotep's lair, along with a special spell to help free my little Smurflings.

"Well, I made it. I created the apparition formula, then went to work on a spell that would allow me to halt whatever apparatus Hotep might be using to make my poor Smurflings into gold.

"All this was done more quickly than I would have thought smurfly possible. But even with all my speed, I was not fast enough.

"As soon as I apparated in Hotep's hide-out, I knew that I was too late. I shall never forget Hotep's awful laugh..."

He heaved a deep sob, his tears cutting blue trails through the dirt on his face.

"I was just in time to-to see the last of my little Smurflings fall screaming into the vat of Hotep's gold-making formula. The rest of them, all of them, were lined up in golden rows. The looks on their little faces!

"I'd failed them! I was too late. It was just as Hotep said, over and over and over again! I was too late!"

His voice rose in a shrill approximation of Hotep's voice.

_"Too late, Papa Smurf, too late!"_

"I-I'm not really sure what happened next. I felt this strange power welling up inside me, like nothing I'd ever felt before. I just hated that imp, so much! The next thing I knew, Hotep and all his goblins, every last one of them, had been incinerated. I watched in amazement as their ashes fell to the floor in little heaps. I still, to this day, have no idea what I did, or how I did it. But, it was done.

"In a sort of trance, I gathered up my little, golden Smurflings. I apparated all of them back to the Village with me. But, no matter what I did, no matter how I tried, no matter how far I traveled or whom I consulted, nothing would restore them to their former selves. They remained forever statues.

"Finally, I gave up. I had spent decades trying to break that spell, and still I had made no progress. So, I did the only thing I had left to do."

He heaved a shuddering sob.

"I-I-I b-buried them!"

He collapsed into tears again, burrowing his face in his hands.

Brainy and Clumsy looked at each other, absolutely speechless.

The emaciated Papa Smurf shook, then took a deep breath and went on.

"After that, I gave up. I wrecked my lab. I just didn't care anymore. Without my little Smurflings, my life has no meaning. I want to die! I want to be with them! I want to tell them h-how s-so-sorr-rry I am!

"Th-that's what I was doing when you found me. I have hardly eaten anything for three years. I only rarely get up from my bed. I just want this awful nightmare to end!"

Brainy and Clumsy felt like crying themselves. But, somehow, they knew they shouldn't. They had to be strong to save Papa Smurf.

"Papa Smurf, we'll help you," Brainy said. "But, first you have to go back to bed. You look like you're about to fall over."

Papa Smurf heaved and sobbed.

"Oh, let me die! Let me die!"

Clumsy and Brainy stared at each other.

"Come on, Clumsy," Brainy said in his most authoritative voice. "Help me smurf him into bed."

He and Clumsy each supported Papa Smurf under an arm and carefully led him through the wrecked lab into the shabby bedroom.

"Self pity never got anysmurf anywhere, you know, Papa Smurf," Brainy said as they lay the sobbing Smurf down on his dusty mattress. "All it can do is cloud your judgment. That's what you've always told me when I was in a slump."

At that, Papa Smurf sat up. It looked as though it took a great deal of energy.

"But, who are you?" he asked. "I've never seen you before. I've never known any Smurf to need glasses."

Brainy straightened in shock.

"What do you mean you don't know me? I'm Brai-"

Then, he recalled his foolish wish.

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly. "I remember."

Brainy searched around for a moment until he found a chair that looked like it would stand upright without wobbling or collapsing under him. He gestured for Clumsy to join him.

Clumsy piled a stack of books and sat on them.

"What'cha gonna do to help him, Brainy?" he asked in a near-whisper.

"I'm going to tell him a story of my own," Brainy replied. "Then, Clumsy, we're going home."

"Why can't we go home now?" Clumsy asked anxiously.

"I can't leave him here like this. I know this is just a might-have-been reality, but he's still Papa Smurf. I have to comfort him, even if he doesn't really exist."

Clumsy nodded.

"I understand, Brainy. Go ahead with your story."

"All right then," Brainy said. "Here we go."

Taking in a bracing breath, Brainy leaned over the sobbing Smurf.

"Papa Smurf?" he queried.

"You know," said Papa Smurf quietly, "if they'd lived, my little Smurflings would be just about the age you are now. What did you say your names were?"

"Well, Papa Smurf," said Brainy, "my name is Brainy Smurf. And this is my best friend, Clumsy Smurf."

"Did you say _Clumsy Smurf_?"

Papa Smurf sat bolt upright in bed. He stared at Clumsy with such ferocious intensity that Clumsy almost fell off his book stack.

Clumsy shot Brainy a very nervous glance as the emaciated Papa Smurf stretched out a wasted arm to touch his round, blue face.

"Clumsy!" Papa Smurf breathed, unable to believe his eyes. "It really is you! You're alive!"

He turned eagerly to Brainy, so excited he was practically dribbling.

"Tell me, Brainy, how did you do this? Can you save the others as well?"

Brainy grimaced uncomfortably. "Well, erm-"

Papa Smurf grabbed him by the shoulders, wide eyes wild.

"TELL ME!" he screamed.

Brainy blinked.

"NOW!"

"All right, Papa Smurf!" Brainy squeaked. "If you calm down, I'll tell you my whole story! But, let me warn you, it's not what you're expecting."

Brainy and Clumsy watched as Papa Smurf made a visible effort to calm himself. Slowly, he lay back down on his pillows, the wild fire draining from his dark eyes.

"Tell me your story, Brainy," he said. "I'm ready to listen."

Brainy hesitated for a moment, but Clumsy urged him on.

"All right, Papa Smurf, here it is. And, please, no matter what you hear, please don't interrupt! Promise?"

"Smurf's honor," Papa Smurf replied.

Brainy nodded, and began his tale.

_To Be Continued..._

REFERENCE NOTE: Papa's Smurf's story was inspired by and, in parts, quoted from the Season 5 Smurfs episode "Papa's Family Album."


	5. 5

5.

"First of all, Papa Smurf, neither Clumsy nor myself is from this reality. Where we come from, the events you just described to us happened quite differently. Isn't that right, Clumsy?"

"Yup, Brainy. That's because you were there. You saved us all with your book."

Brainy nodded.

"You see, Papa Smurf, earlier today I made a wish that I'd never been smurfed. An imp named Mandrake the Mischievous heard my silly wish and made it come true. That's why everything is the way it is now. Because in this might-have-been reality I had never been smurfed, I wasn't there to jam Hotep's gold-smurfing machine long enough for you to apparate and save us all!

"You see, what happened was this. The other Smurflings were all playing smurfball, just as you've described. I wanted to play too, but you said, Papa Smurf, that I had to watch their game from the sidelines because the last time I'd played, I got knocked over and the ball nearly broke my glasses. I'm all but blind without them, you see, and they're really hard to make. The lenses are smurfed from Sleepy Sand that can only be obtained from the Sandman, and he..."

Clumsy cleared his throat, trying to indicate with his eyes that Brainy was getting off track.

"Yes, yes, Clumsy," Brainy said, waving away his concern.

"Anyway, Papa Smurf, I didn't want to be completely left out, so I decided to learn everything I could about the game and write it all out. That way, if anysmurf had a problem, I could look up the proper rule in the rulebook and it would all be sorted out smoothly.

"At least, that's what was supposed to happen. Most of the time, the other Smurflings had a problem with me reading out the rules to them all the time-especially Hefty. When you said that Clumsy should be awarded a free kick for tripping himself, I pointed out that that wasn't in the rules, and Hefty and I got into an argument over it.

"That's when the goblins came. They swooped down from out of nowhere, and smurfed us all away, every one!

"I was absosmurfly terrified! I clutched onto my rulebook as tightly as I could. No matter how hard the goblin who held me shook me, I wouldn't let it go, even at the risk of having my glasses shaken off.

"After a while, the goblin got tired of carrying me and the book. Together, the book and I were too heavy for him. So, he dropped me just outside Hotep's mountain lair.

"I grabbed my book and ran into a cave, but the craggy roof of that cave was crawling with thousands of bats! I ran out again, but the bats followed me in a great cloud of beating wings. They flew right into two goblins that had come looking for me, and let me tell you, those goblins went absosmurfly batty! As it turned out, all Hotep's goblins were terrified of bats!

"After I learned this, I made my way back into the mountain, through a maze of caves. I tiptoed through cavern after cavern, all full of scary, sleeping bats.

"Fortunately, these caves led directly to Hotep's secret hide-out. I could see the other Smurflings there, trapped on Hotep's gold-smurfing machine and guarded by Hotep's evil goblins. There seemed nothing that one lone little Smurfling could do to save them.

"Then I realized...as scared and alone as I was, those nasty goblins were scared too. They were scared of bats! And, since I knew where the bats were sleeping, I knew I wasn't as alone as I'd thought!

"I ran back into the bat-infested caves and opened my book. When I clapped it shut, thousands of angry bats woke up and began chasing me back to Hotep's lair!

"I dropped to the ground and covered myself with my book. The bats flew over me, straight at the goblins.

"Oh, how those goblins panicked! It was marvelous, Papa Smurf! They ran in circles, bumped into each other, spun in place, frantic to fly away from those flapping, furious bats!

"Hotep shouted and ranted at them, but it didn't do any good. Those goblins weren't coming back anytime soon!

"Well, those bats may have dealt with Hotep's henchmen, but, his terrible machine was still carrying the other Smurflings toward Hotep's vat of gold-smurfing formula, forcing them closer and closer and closer...

"That's when I smurfed a truly brilliant flash of inspiration. I jammed my book into the gears of the machine, stopping it cold just before the other Smurflings reached the bubbling vat.

"I think that's what must have smurfed you the time you needed to fight Hotep and save the other Smurflings, Papa Smurf. I didn't see what happened, though. As soon as he realized what I'd done, Hotep enchanted my book so it grew sharp fangs and flew after me, snapping. All I know is, I was hiding behind a thick stalagmite when a series of huge explosions shook the caves. I ran from my hiding place and out into the light-right into you and all the other Smurflings you'd rescued!

"The snapping book was still at my heels but, luckily, you were able to counteract Hotep's enchantment on it before it hurt anyone. I barely even noticed. I was just so happy to see you all safe! Actually, in all the confusion, I think I might have left it there..."

"Anyway, Hotep never bothered us again after that. All we really had to worry about was Gargamel."

Clumsy nodded enthusiastically.

"That's right, Brainy. But, if Azrael hadn't caught you that time Gargamel had to do a project for wizard school, he wouldn't have wanted to catch us so badly."

Brainy made a face.

"Oh, thanks. You had to bring up that little incident."

"I've heard of a Gargamel," Papa Smurf said from his bed.

Brainy and Clumsy looked at him curiously.

"In the human village," the ragged Smurf said in his hoarse, whispery voice, "near my old friend Homnibus's house, there used to be a young man named Gargamel who cleaned up the streets after the chamber pots were emptied. He was very bitter and extremely poor. After he failed wizard school and his mother threw him out of his home, he had nothing to live for except his scrawny cat. He was ridiculed as the town drunk. He died at twenty-four, if I'm not mistaken. Pneumonia, I think. Sad, sad story."

"Wow, Brainy!" Clumsy exclaimed. "Think about it! If it weren't for you, Gargamel would be dead right now! You've given him something to live for! Catching Smurfs!"

"Should I be happy about this?" Brainy asked, only half kidding. He didn't want Gargamel to die, of course, but he also didn't want him to go on trying to catch and eat himself and his fellow Smurfs. Brainy knew Gargamel had a particular hatred of him. The cruel wizard had once called him a loud-mouthed little twit. Even from Gargamel, that stung.

Clumsy chuckled.

"So, whaddya think, Papa Smurf?" he asked. "Do you feel better now, knowing that all your Smurflings really didn't die and really all grew up into good little Smurfs like me and Brainy, here?"

Papa Smurf smiled a small smile at Clumsy's eager face.

"Should I doubt my own eyes? I can see what smurfy young Smurfs you've both grown into. I must have done a good job."

Brainy and Clumsy beamed.

"But, one thing still bothers me."

"What is it, Papa Smurf?" the two Smurfs chorused.

"Brainy, whatever made you wish you had never been smurfed? That seems a pretty drastic wish to me and, from what I've seen and heard, you don't strike me as the type of Smurf who would easily make that kind of wish."

Brainy looked down at his twitching feet in embarrassment.

"Well, you see Papa Smurf, everysmurf thinks I'm annoying. Whenever I try to help them or give them advice on how to do their jobs, none of them listen to me. Whenever I smurf up, they try to avoid talking to me. Even the Smurflings disappear when I appear."

"Smurflings?" Papa Smurf asked, confused. "If you're all young Smurfs, how can there still be Smurflings in the Village?"

"Gosh, it's a long story Papa Smurf. I don't think we've time to smurf into it," said Clumsy.

Brainy went on, blind to the interruption.

"Even you find me annoying, Papa Smurf! Why, only this morning I offered to help you smurf one of your experiments. You ignored my request completely. Instead, you told me to take care of Baby!"

Papa Smurf looked curiously up at Clumsy.

Clumsy shrugged.

"Another long story, Papa Smurf."

"That was the sixth time this week you'd stuck me with diedy duty, and it's only Wednesday!" Brainy cried. "Baby Smurf doesn't even like me. He's always trying to grab my glasses!

"I couldn't take it anymore, Papa Smurf. I'm tired of being useless. All I ever do is write down rules that no Smurf ever listens to and give advice that no Smurf ever takes. All right, I'll admit, every once in a while I make an error. But so does everysmurf! It's just that everysmurf only ever remembers the times _I_ smurfed up. They think I'm bossy and small minded. But, all I ever try to do is help! I may go a bit too far once in a while, like when you told me not to let anysmurf disturb your nap, Papa Smurf, and I set up a magical sound barrier around the Village-"

Papa Smurf chuckled.

"That must have been something. Such a sound barrier can only be broken by the sound of a pin falling outside of it."

"Yes, I know that _now_! But, I didn't _then_. If Baby and the Smurflings hadn't been outside the Village at that time, we would never have gotten out. And it would have been all _my_ fault.

"Oh, Papa Smurf, what if everysmurf is right? What if I really am bossy, small minded, overzealous, and bureaucratic? Oh, no wonder no Smurf likes me!"

"But, gosh, Brainy!" said Clumsy. "I like you."

"Smurf knows why," Brainy moaned.

Papa Smurf smiled.

"I think I understand your problem now, Brainy."

Brainy looked up, his eyes, already magnified by the thick lenses of his glasses, wide with hope.

"You do, Papa Smurf?"

"Brainy, you're a very intelligent young Smurf, but you try too hard. You long for responsibility, yet you push everysmurf away trying to prove you deserve it. You ache for respect and wisdom, but you're still to young to understand that there are no shortcuts to these qualities. They are only earned through hard work and kindness. And, Brainy, you are capable of both. You have the potential to become a truly great Smurf."

Papa Smurf favored him with a gentle smile.

"You don't have to show off your abilities to get others to notice you. If your abilities are truly noteworthy, they'll speak for themselves. Do you understand, Brainy?"

Brainy was still for a moment, then he nodded slowly, letting the ragged Papa Smurf's words sink in.

"I-I'm not entirely sure, Papa Smurf," he admitted humbly. "But, I think so."

"Keep writing your books, Brainy," Papa Smurf said. "As you did with Hotep's goblins, you may find they make you more useful than you realize...even if it's not always in the way you may have intended."

"Yes, Papa Smurf. I will."

He turned to Clumsy.

"Come on, Clumsy, let's call on that imp to smurf this place back to normal."

He shivered.

"No offense, Papa Smurf, but it's pretty lonely here."

"I know it is, Brainy. I know it is."

_To Be Concluded..._

REFERENCE NOTES:  
References were made in this chapter to (my favorite) _Smurfs_ episode "The Dark-Ness Monster," "Papa's Family Album," "Unsound Smurfs," and "Gargamel's Time Trip."


	6. 6

6.

Mandrake the Mischievous fumed behind a patently false smile.

He had watched the entire exchange between Brainy, Clumsy, and Papa Smurf, shielded by a spell of invisibility. The wicked little imp had learned long ago that, usually, the best way to watch his victims' reactions was to remain unseen himself.

But, in this case, it seemed his scheme had completely backfired. Instead of writhing in psychological anguish, his intended victim was smiling at him, actually _thanking_him for his help and explaining everything he'd learned. It was all Mandrake could do not to throttle the spectacled blue pest where he stood!

"Where did I go wrong!" the imp thought to himself, pretending to nod and smile as the irritating Smurf prattled on and on and on.

"It was such a perfect scheme! But is this annoying blue creature plumbing the depths of devastation? Has his pedantic little mind cracked with the knowledge that his life has truly been useless? No! And good grief, this Brainy Smurf is wearing at my nerves! I swear, he has a voice like sandpaper!"

Mandrake really had to struggle to stretch his angry grimace back into something friendlier before the bubbly little Smurfs realized he wasn't listening to them.

"It's not fair! It's just not fair!," he ranted inside his head. "I wanted to harm this insufferable Smurf, not help him! The greatest trick of my life—and it ends up a mushy flop! Oh, Mandrake... You must be getting old. All that time, and-

"Wait..."

The green-clad imp began to brighten.

"That's it! I know what the problem was! I didn't take enough _time_to learn about this Smurf. From the way he was acting, he seemed to be completely useless. Yet, it turned out that deep down, he's one of the most important members of his community. He's their unofficial chronicler and law expert, and he has natural organizational abilities. In another time and place, he could be a very good politician or administrator. As it is, he still has a very, very long way to go.

"Note to self: never make up complicated tricks for children. It'll never work. They're still unrealized potential. I'll have to find an adult who once had potential, but squandered it all away. Only then will my trick truly work. But, who?

"Ah ha! That Gargamel character they were discussing. He seems perfect!"

"...so, thank you again, Mandrake! You've been a bigger help than you'll ever know!"

"Yes, you're welcome Brainy Smurf," said Mandrake absently, imagining the devastation on that Gargamel's face when he realized how he'd wasted his life.

"And please, don't mention it. Ever."

"Whatever you say!"

Brainy grinned, and Clumsy nodded with a huge smile.

Mandrake chuckled wickedly to himself, then sprinkled their heads with the last of his dried debris, sending them all spinning back home to their own reality.

* * *

Brainy and Clumsy paused at the outskirts of Smurf Village, soaking in the vitality and joy of the over one hundred inhabitants. Though the last rays of the setting sun had nearly faded from the late-evening sky, there were still several Smurfs out and about, going about their business.

Brainy grinned widely.

"Ah, it's so smurfy to be home!"

"Yup," Clumsy agreed. "You don't really realize just how smurfy it is until you've lost it."

They both paused for a moment, sobered by the memory of that wasted, forlorn Papa Smurf.

When they looked up, to their surprise they saw their own healthy, red-clad Papa Smurf with his neatly trimmed white beard hurrying toward them.

They rushed to meet him.

"What's wrong, Papa Smurf?" they chorused, their round, blue faces tight with worry.

Papa Smurf looked at them curiously.

"Well, it's nothing to be that concerned about. Calm down, my little Smurfs," he said. "I've just been looking for Brainy, that's all. I remember he wrote down in one of his books something I once said about the importance of rutabaga when using frog breath. I've completely forgotten the little rhyme and I need it to complete my experiment."

Brainy grinned from ear to ear.

"Why, I'd be only too happy to find you that quote, Papa Smurf! It's in volume forty-three of _Brainy Smurf's Quotations from Papa Smurf_, page one hundred twenty-two. I'll smurf it for you at once!"

Papa Smurf shook his head as he watched Brainy run off towards his book-crammed mushroom house.

"He certainly is eager to please. And eager for praise. That's been his problem all along."

Clumsy nodded.

"Don't worry, Papa Smurf. With a little appreciation, he'll end up all right."

Papa Smurf gave him a curious look, but Clumsy didn't elaborate. He'd promised Mandrake the Mischievous that he wouldn't tell anyone about their trip to the might-have-been reality.

Just as Brainy was racing back to Papa Smurf, hand-bound book in hand, he nearly ran into Handy Smurf, who was heading home for the night.

"Oh, Brainy!" Handy called.

Brainy paused and looked back at him.

"Sorry, Handy, I'm just on my way to Papa Smurf with this book and-"

"Brainy," Handy cut in, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry I snapped at you like that this morning. You see, I'd been having problems with my Smurf-o-Matic Water Smurfer and I just couldn't figure out what was wrong. When you mentioned the pulley, it all fell into place. I was so angry at myself for not noticing that sooner, I'm afraid I took it out on you. Can you forgive me?"

Brainy beamed.

"Of course I can, Handy! I understand completely. I feel that way myself sometimes."

"Really?" said Handy, relieved. "You're not mad at me?"

"Nope. And remember, if you ever need any help, I'm always here."

Handy gave a good-natured chuckle.

"Right, Brainy. Good night."

"Good night, Handy. Now, if you'll excuse me, Papa Smurf is expecting this book of quotations. It's very important for his experiment!"

Brainy laughed happily to himself as he made his way through the darkening night towards Papa Smurf's brightly lit mushroom house.

"Wow," he thought, "I guess I really am needed around here! I was so stupid to have wished I'd never been smurfed. I just didn't realize, it's a smurfy life!"

The End

_Note: If you enjoyed this story, Mandrake the Mischievous returns to torment Gargamel in my story "A World Without Gargamel." :)_


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